The Functions of Cabinet Appointees
The primary functions of the cabinet appointees are to advocate and support the policy decisions of the President. The cabinet appointees also possess the element of independence in suggesting or proposing policies which express their perspective or opinion (Bennett 225). However, as much as they enjoy the right to independent decisions and opinion, they are not in a position to take their decisions independently. The decisions of cabinet appointees need to be approved by the full cabinet, which is chaired by the President. The cabinet appointees also direct the issues of national importance on behalf of the President (Alexiadou 1052). They have the authority to discuss national issues and present proposed laws to the departments of the government. The proposals are only adopted after deliberations with the whole cabinet.
The Purpose of Cabinet Meetings
The purpose of meeting as an entire cabinet is to analyze the pros and cons of various policies voiced by the cabinet appointees. Besides, the cabinet meeting, which is chaired by the President, comes up with a resolution of either adopting or rejecting the policies (Bennett 223). The resolution comes after the entire cabinet team has deliberated on the tabled policies from various cabinet appointees. This method of deliberating on cabinet appointees' policies before adopting or rejecting the tabled policies ensures democratic ideas in the political arena. The resolutions of the whole cabinet, chaired by the President, also give the head of state the guidelines on how best the country can be governed. Moreover, this method ensures that the cabinet appointees avoid the malpractices in carrying out their public duties since all the government transactions will be transparent (Smith, Daniel and Shane 133). The transparency aspect is ensured through the presentation of the policies to the cabinet, which discusses the matter in public view.
Works Cited
Alexiadou, Despina. "Ideologues, partisans, and loyalists: Cabinet ministers and social welfare reform in parliamentary democracies." Comparative Political Studies 48.8 (2015): 1051-1086.
Bennett, Anthony J. The American president's cabinet: from Kennedy to Bush. Springer, 2016.
Smith, Daniel M., and Shane Martin. "Political dynasties and the selection of cabinet ministers." Legislative Studies Quarterly 42.1 (2017): 131-165.
